Literacy for Learning: A Handbook of Content-Area and Disciplinary Literacy Practices for Middle and High School Teachers

Literacy proficiency became the responsibility of every middle and high school teacher as each state adopted, or revised and adopted, The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts &Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Its intention was immediately misunderstood, and most content area teachers responded with “I did not go to college to be a reading and writing teacher!” The result? ELA teachers became the sole source of reading and writing instruction. Literacy for Learning: A Handbook of Content-Area and Disciplinary Literacy Practices for Middle and High School Teachers, 2nd edition, enables readers to discover how content area teachers are now using a literacy model of instruction to maximize learning in every discipline and meet the Reading Informational Text Standards of the Common Core. As a handbook, this book motivates middle and high school teachers to include daily, independent reading and writing as literacy instructional practices for teaching disciplinary content through a rigorous curriculum and with complex texts. The updates to this 2nd edition include more recent scholarship, as well as a new digital component featuring resources and strategies.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Overview of Literacy Expectations in Middle and High School Chapter 1. Nothing Happens in a Vacuum Improved Academic Performance? What Happened? What is the Literacy Expectation in Middle and High School? How Do Teachers Meet These Expectations? Part II: Becoming College and Career Ready Who Are These Freshmen? Key Shifts Called for by the Common Core Chapter 2. Strategic Reading and Writing What Is Strategic Reading and Writing? What Does Strategic Reading and Writing Look Like in a Classroom? Strategic Readers and Writers Are Effective Readers and Writers Chapter 3. Content-Area Literacy The Next Step Developing Content-Area Literacy Instructor Response Beyond Deep Learning Chapter 4. Disciplinary Literacy Creating Discourse Communities Intentional Disciplinary Literacy So, What Does Disciplinary Literacy Look Like? Part III: A Literacy Model of Instruction Using Informational Texts Chapter 5. Reading Across the Disciplines Informational Texts Recursive Reading and Writing to Learn A Process for Reading Informational Texts Before Reading: Preparing to Read and Write During Reading: Responding in Writing While Reading After Reading: Reinforcing, Expanding, and Writing Adapting and Customizing From Content-Area Literacy to Disciplinary Literacy More Than a Process for Reading Chapter 6. Academic Language Across the Disciplines The Significance of Vocabulary Brain Development and Vocabulary Effective Vocabulary Instruction Chapter 7. Writing Across the Disciplines What is Content-Area Writing? The Reading-Writing Connection Informal Writing versus Formal Writing Empowered Teachers Empower Students Improving Writing through Mentor Texts Part IV: Using Technology to Support Content-Area and Disciplinary Literacy Chapter 8. Standards, Tenets, and Best Practices Technology Standards Basic Tenets of Technology in Education Reading, Thinking, and Composing Digitally Chapter 9. Instructional Resources Libraries/Media Centers/Computer Labs Open-Access Resources Dependable, Credible Resources References About the Author

About the Author :
After a career of teaching reading and writing to students of all ages, Charlene K. Aldrich combined her education and her classroom experiences with Dr. Berry’s first edition of Literacy for Learning to create a handbook for developing literacy-rich instruction in every middle and high school discipline.

Review :
It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I welcome the revised edition of my 2013 book Literacy for Learning: A Handbook of Content-Area Strategies for Middle and High School Teachers. Charlene K. Aldrich’s masterful and thoughtfully organized revision provides necessary, timely, and research-driven updates, including an approach that bridges content area and disciplinary literacy, adds more recent scholarship, and provides convenient new digital accessibility for the resources and strategies. This revised edition will enable today’s teachers to carry out the original mission of the book: to empower teachers to “help adolescent learners with the complex cognitive processes of reading, writing and learning in all subject areas,” and, as the new edition states, “to empower students as agents of their own learning.” This new edition will be an invaluable resource for teachers in all disciplines for many years to come. As a 32-year career educator in Early Childhood and literacy specialist, and knowing Charlene Aldrich for many years, I have read her book Literacy for Learning: A Handbook of Content-Area and Disciplinary Literacy Practices for Middle and High School Teachers, 2nd Edition, and fully endorse and support her commitment to growing literacy in the next generation of teachers and students. Her efforts to develop literacy-infused lesson plans combining informational text with literary text will truly enhance content-area learning. Charlene Aldrich has been teaching content-area reading and writing courses to pre-service and in-service teachers for years. Based on her expertise, she saw a need to expand the initial nature of this book to more accurately explore content-area reading and writing practices and the interconnectedness and relationship with disciplinary literacy. As an educator, she believes in continued learning and growth, and strives to model this practice for her students and colleagues by constantly reading and researching to strengthen her knowledge and that of others, as well as publishing with literacy colleagues. She is truly passionate about collaborating with all teachers to know how to best support all learners. Charlene Aldrich is an accomplished teacher of teachers, using practical strategies to help educators in all content areas become more fluent in incorporating literacy elements in their daily classroom practices. This text will be invaluable to teachers who want or need to infuse their instruction with proven literacy strategies.